


Nothing Without Love

by thathyperloudfangirlchick



Series: Baked My Way Into Your Heart [5]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Domesticity, F/M, Nate Reuss, Singing, Small Mention of Bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 16:29:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4794407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thathyperloudfangirlchick/pseuds/thathyperloudfangirlchick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WAS Inspired by this prompt, “Imagine person A of your otp singing you are my sunshine to person B,” but it sorta got away from me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Without Love

          "Mama?” You turn around at the tiny, eight year old voice behind you and smile.

          “Hey there, Jack-Jack, finish your homework?” you ask, washing your hands and drying them on your apron. He nods at you, his usually cheery face somber. You crouch down to meet his downturned eyes. “Hey, is something wrong, sweetie? You’re so quiet… Did something happen at school?” you ask, lightly ruffling his blonde hair. He stares at you, an open, serious look on his face.

          “Mama, do you love me?” Your eyes widen at the unexpected question before you take his little face in your hands.

          “Jackie, sweetie, I love you very, very much. No matter what, I will always love you very, very much. What brought this on?” Jack looks down at the floor, his fist rubbing at his eyes. Your heart throbs, and you coo at him as you gently pat his hair.

          “A boy at school said his mom said that no one loves me cause I don’t have a mommy anymore and cause Dad is gone all the time,” he says, his teary eyes meeting yours. “Is that true? Is that why daddy works all the time?” You gasp before standing up and scooping the little boy in your arms.

          “I can’t believe someone said that to you, why I oughtta…” you mutter, sitting yourself down on a kitchen chair and setting Jack on the table in front of you so you both were eye to eye.

          “Listen, Jackie. You are an intensely, deeply loved child. Just… so much love, sweetie. So much love that we would do anything for you. Do you know why Daddy works so hard?” Jack shakes his head, his face sheepish under such intense attention. “Daddy works every day, because he wants to make the country we live in a safe place, because he wants to put away people who like to hurt other people, because every bad guy he puts away is one less threat to our safety. Sweetie, you must understand that Daddy works hard every day, because he loves you very much; he is working hard to keep you safe.” Jack nods, his eyes starting to tear up, his lips trembling, and you shush him, moving him to your lap and cradling him to your bosom.

          “Sometimes, sweetie, it’s going to be hard. Other people might not understand how your dad shows his love with his job or how your mommy can love you so deeply from heaven or me, who loves you as if you were my own. It can be hard, but you’re going to be just fine.” You take his cheeks in your hands and pull his head away, making meaningful eye contact. “A Chinese philosopher once said ‘Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.’ Do you know what that means, baby?” He shakes his head, smiling at you as your thumbs brush the tears away from his cheeks. You smile back and press a kiss to his forehead, your lips a healing touch on his skin.

          “It means that you are a strong, strong little boy. You have so much love standing behind you, sweetie. Your daddy, me, your momma in heaven, the three of us love you more than anything in the entire world. We are always supporting you, always watching over you, always loving you. Never forget that, okay?” Jack nods, hugging you and burrowing his nose into your neck. You pat his back, squeezing him as hard as you can. “I love you very much, sweetie.”

          “I love you too, Mama.” You sniffle, a few tears rising up in your eyes too as you pull away from each other. You pat his cheek and wipe away your tears. “Can I help you make my lunch, Mama?”

          “Sure thing, sweetie. I’m making you pizza pinwheels with homemade marinara sauce, your favorite,” you say, placing him on the floor and grabbing his apron. He washes his hand in the sink as you tie the apron behind his back. “You roll out the dough, I’ll start chopping up tomatoes,” you tell him, patting his head. He smiles up at you, grabbing his mini rolling pin out of the drawer, and you both get to work, a sweet companionable silence between the two of you. Eventually, you start humming, as you oft do when you cook or bake, and Jack’s smile widens. He loves hearing you sing from the living room where he does his homework, your voice carrying from the kitchen like the smell of fresh bread and chocolate, spreading through the once cold house and making it warm and homey again.

“ _I am nothing without love_

_I’m but a ship stuck in the sand_

_Some would say that I’m all alone_

_But I am, I’m nothing without love_

_I wanna hold him in my arms_

_He feelin’ alone, he feelin’ sad_

_I would take credit for what’s wrong,_

_But I am, I’m nothing without love_ ”

          You hand out your hand, still singing, and Jack puts his hand in yours, laughing. You take both his hands and start to spin around the kitchen, your graceful movements leading him into a dizzying frolic.

“ _Oh baby, show me a sign_

_Send up a signal that everything’s fine_

_Come on, come one, come on right by my side_

_Don’t you know that I, don’t you know that I_

_I wanna rest in your light_ ”

          When Jack starts to get dizzy, you pick him up, lifting him to stand on top of a kitchen chair, taking his cute, tiny, little face in your hands. “I wanna rest in your light… I wanna rest in your light~ Cause I am, I’m nothing without love.” Overcome with motion, you finish the song and start to pepper giddy, affectionate kisses all over his face. This makes him giggle at the ticklish feeling, and you giggle back, pressing your forehead gently to his, your sweet, ear-to-ear grin identical to his.

          “You and your daddy are the wonderful lights of my life, you sweet child. Never forget that.”

          “You took the words right out of my mouth, Y/N.” Both your heads turn towards the doorway, and Aaron is leaning there, gentle, affectionate smile on his face.

          “Daddy!” Jack yells, hopping off the chair and running to embrace his father who meets him halfway across the kitchen floor and scoops him up into his arms. Jack and Aaron’s joyous, matching faces at seeing each other melt your heart as you walk over to them and lean your head on Aaron’s shoulder, sure that you are wearing the same expression.

          “How long have you been standing there, you creeper?” you ask, giving Aaron his usual “Welcome Home kiss”. He gives you a small secret smile before turning to Jack.

          “Would you like me to talk to the school about the boy saying those things?” Jack shakes his head vigorously, no sign of the earlier sadness when his hero is home.

“Mama cheered me up, and then we made my lunch for tomorrow, and then Mama sang to me and we danced and, then Mama said she loved us, it was fun,” Jack says in one breath, his happiness manifesting in the speed of his speech. You and Aaron share a smile full of parental affection before you ruffle Jack’s hair.

          “Actually, Jackie, we haven’t finished making your lunch. Why don’t we ask Daddy if he’d like to help?” Jack only has to look at Aaron with that look full of excitement at the prospect of spending time with his father before Aaron melts, putting Jack down and grabbing his apron. “Babe, would you mind getting me the other ingredients for the marinara sauce?” you ask, looking over Aaron’s shoulder as he blocks the door to the pantry. Before you can move around him, he wraps his arms around your waist and sprinkles kisses on your face, his head gently bumping yours, before kissing your lips slowly and sweetly. He pulls away slightly, his short black hair tickling your forehead.

          “I’ll do that, only if you keep singing for us. Isn’t that right, Jack?”

          “That’s right!” Jack chimes in, runnings towards the both of you and wrapping his arms around your legs. You giggle, ruffling his hair and pinching his ear lightly.

“Only if I sing for you, my butt. I’m making your lunch, you little goober,” you retort. The three of you laugh at that, squeezing each other one last time before you head into the pantry for ingredients, humming “Heart and Soul” with a big smile on your face..


End file.
